Miss HOMRA
by Angel SongBird
Summary: Besides Anna, there are really no girls in HOMRA. But what if there was? Tsukihisa Kaiya is the motherless daughter of a high up company official. But despite her wealth, she is the victim of physical abuse and her father's gambling habits led her to be sold into child prostitution...until HOMRA saves her. Rating changed, since it's actually pretty tame, to T for language.
1. The End

"I'm sorry, we can't explain the death of your wife, Tsukihisa-san, but her bodily functions seemed to just go haywire. We've never seen this before. Luckily, your baby survived, it's a girl." The doctor bit her lower lip anxiously and tapped her pen against her clipboard, "She's just undergoing a quick check to make sure she's healthy."

The tall business suit clad new father pulled at his hair gently, "When will I be able to see her?"

"In a few moments. She'll be handed off to you to take home as soon as her checkups done." The doctor turned to look behind her and smiled, a nurse carrying a small white bundle toward them, "Ah, here she comes now."

Tsukihisa-san sidestepped her and jogged the short distance to his child. The nurse, smiling, carefully placed the baby in his arms, "Congratulations, Tsukihisa-san! A healthy baby girl, she's a little underweight though, but that's understandable since she's premature. Do you have a name for her?"

But he wasn't listening to her, he stared down at the last remnant of his beloved wife, _what was wrong? Why did you insist on coming out so early? But it's alright, I forgive you. _"Kaiya. Forgiveness. Her name is Tsukihisa Kaiya."

()

15 years later…

"I win again, and you owe me another 100,000¥ (about 10,200 US dollars)." The men gathered around the table laughed harshly, "Tsukihisa-san, how do you intend to pay your rising debts?"

"Can you just forget about this little game? I can't have this going on my record and I can't keep withdrawing from the company funds…I can't lose my job!" His hands shook faintly, gambling had become an obsession of his since the death of his beloved wife, and he was rather bad at it. When he gambled, he lost money, when he lost money, he felt depressed, when he felt depressed, he drank…and when he drank he didn't stop and when he woke up the next morning Kaiya had bruises. They both never spoke about the things that happened on those nights, and he always made sure to leave painkillers on the table for her before she went to school, his way of apologizing – a peace treaty of sorts.

The people he usually gambled with were from the infamous Yakuza gang, and owing them money was a bad place to be in. If your debts were too much for you to possibly pay back, they pretended to be satisfied with taking all the money you did have – and then, of course, killing you. He just had to keep them thinking that he could pay them the money he owed them and that he wasn't in any sort financial trouble. And then his fear made him speak loosely, "I have something worth more than money! My 15 year old daughter is my most prized possession!"

"A daughter? Do you have a picture?" The men at the table shared snickers, "We'll judge her worth."

Shakily, he tugged his phone out of his pocket and showed them his background, a picture of him and his daughter taken the month before at her birthday party. She smiled out at the camera, her dark chocolate hued hair adorned with cyan blue streaks, and her big silvery eyes just peeking out over the top of her sunglasses. She wasn't voluptuous, nor was she a short Lolita of a girl. She was skinny, on the tall side, and a bit of a tomboy. In the photo she was wearing an oversized T-shirt that she'd put on over her modest swim suit.

"She's worth over a million yen at least. Is she a virgin?" The men laughed and grabbed his phone, looking at the picture closer.

Tsukihisa-san rubbed his sweaty palms on his shirt, was he really using his daughter to pay off his debt? But his fear spoke for him, "She's never had a boyfriend."

"Doesn't mean she's still a virgin!" One of the men jabbed another jokingly. They looked at him, their leers sickening. "If she's a virgin than we'll write off a hundred million yen, your whole debt. We'll come by your house in a few weeks to collect. She'll become the little sister* of Yakuza." And with that they stood up, cleared up the game of poker and left him alone at the table, contemplating his sin. (*Little sister is a term used in fraternities as a girl who lives in the frat house and is essentially the frat's sex servant, often times gang raped.)

()

"Dad!" Kaiya looked up from her laptop when he walked through the door.

He winced upon hearing her voice and gave her a sheepish smile, "You shouldn't still be up."

"I was waiting for you. You've come home super late today." She slipped her headphones off, "So I stayed up to let you in, in case you forgot your keys again."

"Kaiya." He stepped heavily across the carpeted living room and sat down on the leather couch beside her, "We need to talk."

She lowered her laptop screen and turned so she sat facing him, her legs crossed, "Yep?"

"Are you a virgin?"

Her cheeks immediately went red and she shrieked and slapped his arm, "Wha-that's-I mean-eto…" She looked down at her lap, "I've never had a boyfriend, so yes. I guess we're having the sex talk right?"

"Oh? What? No! I assume you know all of that already, I mean, don't have sex without a condom and be safe, a baby could ruin your career, etc. You know the drill. I was just wondering, but I'm glad you're still my little girl." He ruffled her hair. Her bangs were a lot longer than the rest of her hair and hung down to her waist, while the rest of her hair stopped mid-back.

She batted his hand away, but then she started to twirl a lock of hair, "You don't have to worry about me doing that for a long time."

"I'm glad." His voice hitched, "But you should be getting to bed, it's past 1am."

Kaiya smiled, "Hai!" and snapping her laptop shut she leapt up the stairs, leaving her father alone. He groaned and leaned his head back, hating himself more and more.

()

A few weeks later, Kaiya was sitting in the sunroom, watching the sun slip below the horizon. Her father had been sitting up in his room for a long time and she hoped he wasn't drinking again. He'd been getting drunk more often lately and her bruises from the last time hadn't even started to fade yet. She winced and pulled her hand away from her shoulder which she'd absentmindedly reached up to stroke, remembering his last drunken episode.

Her father came shambling down the stairway, his hair a mess and still in a business shirt and slacks, his tie half undone and his eyes bleary. He moved disjointedly to the door and opened it up, answering in a woozy voice, "She's in the sunroom." And then, "Kaiya! We have some guests who want to meet you! Get over here!"

From her viewpoint she couldn't see the people at the door, so zipping her jacket up and repositioning the collar to hide her bruises, she reluctantly came to her father's side. The men at the door leered at her and they made her skin crawl. Something wasn't right, but before she could voice her concerns, one of the strangers grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him.

"Your daddy here says you're a virgin. Is it true? 'Cause if you are, his debts are paid and all you have to do is come live with us and be our house girl. We can't promise we'll be gentle though." They all burst into painfully loud laughter that felt like sandpaper in her ears.

"Dad? I don't get this. What are they doing here?" She looked helplessly around and then locked eyes with her father, "Who are they?"

"We're the Yakuza gang and your daddy owes us a lot of money." Their voices were too loud. "Didn't he tell you?" She wanted them to shut up and go away. "Has your daddy not told you that he traded you for his own life?" She was scared, her heart was racing and the pounding was now louder than their own boisterous voices. "You're gonna be a good little girl and come nicely, right?"

Her body reacted and she began to thrash like a trapped animal, suddenly adrenaline blinded her and instinct told her to escape. Someone cursed as she swiped her ragged fingernails across skin. A break in the mass of bodies was all she needed and she ducked through and ran. Her feet were bare and the asphalt slammed against them mercilessly. The thuds of the many shoes of her pursuers seemed to echo in the empty streets. She couldn't tell where she was going but it was away from them and their loud voices and rough hands. Fear made everything so vivid and sharp, every nerve sending her signals about her surroundings: the humid but chill air, the soft wind, the sharp air she was yanking into her lungs, the pointy little bits that made up the sidewalk cement…

"Hey!" Something hard banged her bruised shoulder and she cried out in surprise and pain. Her hands hit the ground and slid, the cement ripping off several layers of the skin on her palms, making them sting. A man with blond hair was also on the ground, having fallen after being hit by her, an old fashion video camera lay next to him. He was staring at her with concern, but her body was screaming for her to run. Everything was suddenly an imminent threat to her continued existence.

So she jumped up and ran, the feel of the ground became sharper and harder, she was now in an alley. A chain link fence cut in her stinging hands and she suddenly became aware of her surroundings again, her path was blocked.

And then someone grabbed her hand and yanked her in a different direction. The sounds of her pursuers fell behind them and was replaced by the faint buzzing of street lights. Her adrenaline rush was finally winding down and her legs slid out from under her. Someone managed to grab her before her whole body came crashing down. They said something soothingly and then scooped her up. Her head fell back, too heavy to hold up and the world dropped away.


	2. Fresh Start

"Its fine, its fine. You're going to be okay!" Kaiya blinked slowly awake to find herself lying on a couch, two people were standing over her, one was smiling and the other was looking worried. She sat up abruptly, everything coming back. Her muscles were sore, but she began to struggle against the sheets, a warm hand on her shoulder made her fall still. The smiling one's eyes shone with concern, "I found you running away from a rough looking bunch, but we lost them. Don't worry, you're safe here."

"Where am I?" Her voice rose with fear and she took a few breaths to settle herself before continuing, "Who are you?"

"This is the HOMRA bar, I am Kusanagi Izumo, the one who brought you to our doorstep, where you promptly fainted, is Totsuka Tatara."

"Hi!" The smiling one, Totsuka-san, gave a small wave.

HOMRA? The gang? She jumped away from them and pressed herself tightly to the back of couch like a threatened cat, "Stay away from me! Please don't rape me!" Her eyes were wide with fear and her heart rate had once again picked up, but now she was too weak to fight and she slouched after a couple moments. Totsuka caught her from falling off the couch and repositioned her, "We promise no harm will come to you and we would never take advantage of a young lady. Now, can you tell us why you were running?"

Taking a deep breath, she began with the loss of her mother...and a few hours later she yawned and laid her head against the armrest of the couch, "And then I bumped into you so I guess you know the rest."

"So you have nowhere to go?" Totsuka asked gently, which she simply nodded in response too. "Then the answer is simple! You can stay here and join HOMRA!"

Kaiya blinked, "Join a gang? But they'll still come after me and my dad will keep trying to get me back. I don't want to cause trouble for you with the police-"

"But if you go back," It the bartender who had been thoughtful while she told her story, "Your father will hand you over to them?" Again, she nodded solemnly.

Totsuka gave that easy going smile, "Its fine, its fine! You'll be safe here!"

()

"Is this Scepter 4? My name is Tsukihisa Kane. My daughter is a strain and…she's run away from home." He gulped, his fingers shook. The Yakuza gang had given him a chance to redeem his payment after he told them he'd have the police find her, that he could pull strings for them to make it top priority.

"Yes, her abilities are still undetermined, am I correct?"

"Um. Yes." And with a sigh of relief he began to offer them information in their search for her. Within the hour he was saying goodbye after being promised they'd have missing posters up the next day.

()

"Is it really okay for me to stay with you, Totsuka-san?"

"You have nowhere else to go, and you can meet our king after you've gotten some rest, you've been through too much. Don't worry. It will all work out." He unlocked the door of his apartment and ushered her in, "Your clothes are filthy, so I'll lend you some."

"Thank you." She bowed quickly, "I'm sorry to trouble you."

He laughed, "Just get some rest. I'll go get you some extra clothes." He walked off, leaving her in the living room, and when he returned she'd already curled up on the couch and fallen asleep, so he pulled a blanket over her and placed the clothes on the other armrest along with a quick note of "I'll be at the HOMRA bar if I'm not here." And left her to sleep.

()

"And you just bumped into her and decided to bring her here?" Kusanagi lit a new cigarette and shot Totsuka a dubious look.

His optimistic friend smiled, unaware of the look, but his smile slipped away and his gaze fell thoughtfully to the floor, "Mikoto will let her join if he hears her story."

Outside the bar a police officer put up a missing poster and moved on. Kusanagi walked to the window to get a better look and his jaw tightened, "She hasn't even been missing for 24 hours, so the police shouldn't be involved yet." Totsuka joined him at the window and slowly skimmed over the poster a few feet from them, with a picture that was unmistakably the girl he'd brought here.

()

When Kaiya awakened it was no longer dark, the sky was just becoming light. Her clothes were filthy, and glancing around she noticed the T-shirt and jacket Totsuka-san had left for her. She scanned over the note and then went in search of a washing machine.

His house was clean, not what she expected from a bachelor, but there was no sign that he lived with anyone else though. He mentioned the pub in the letter, maybe she'd go down and ask him if she could use the washing machine. But just then the door opened and he came in, and stopped. He greeted her with a good natured smile, "I just came back to check on you. Did you just wake up?" She nodded, clutching the fresh clothes. "The police are putting up missing posters for you."

Kaiya tensed and backed away, but Totsuka raised his hands in a surrender gesture, "Don't worry, we won't turn you in, but I brought Suoh Mikoto, the red king, to meet you."

The man behind him was scary looking, but unlike her bruises her confidence had healed with sleep. "Red king? What does that mean?"

Totsuka gave a brief explanation of the 7 kings, and that magical powers do exist. She didn't look convinced though and when he finished she turned to Mikoto, "Prove it."

Mikoto had his hands in his pockets and looked rather unconcerned. Fire leapt forth from his skin and Kaiya barely suppressed a look of surprise. The fire faded and she nodded, satisfied, and then retold the red king about the trouble she was now in. And when she finished Totsuka piped up, "And we'll have to disguise her because her face is probably all over this city by now with those missing posters."

"What?" She spun around to face her savior, her eyes wide. She knew she'd have to hide, but a disguise hadn't crossed her mind yet. But in her defense, she'd just woken up and was more preoccupied with finding a washing machine.

But Totsuka continued, "Since Yata can't deal with girls, we can just disguise her as a boy. It shouldn't be too hard."

Mikoto stepped toward her and reached out his hand toward her, "If you want to join HOMRA, you can."

Kaiya eyed his hand, but tentatively reached forward to take it and was suddenly engulfed in flames. Fear shot through her…and Totsuka fell to his knees. She jumped backward and looked around, her fear slowly faded as she realized she wasn't on fire or being cooked alive. There was warmth on her upper hip and she pulled her jacket up a bit. A weird symbol in red now adorned her skin, and Totsuka, who was now back on his feet, explained, "That's the HOMRA symbol. So Tsukihisa Kaiya, welcome to HOMRA."

And with bleach, scissors, sunglasses, bandages, and boy clothes, Kaiya was transformed into Kai-kun. Totsuka brought her to the HOMRA bar that afternoon to introduce her to the rest of the gang. A bit of rest and food had brought her confidence back and she slid into the role of a 15 year old boy with ease.


	3. Missing Poster Girl

"Oh, and here's Kai-kun!" Kusanagi nodded toward the door. A small girl on the bar stool in front of him swiveled around and lifted a red marble to her eye, "Kai-chan."

"Hey, that's a little mean." Kai laughed, reaching up and running her hand through her now shoulder length hair.

"Anna's right, where did you find such a pretty boy?" A guy with black hair and sunglasses teased.

A 20 something man with light brown hair and eyes laughed and looked over at Kaiya, "How old are you anyway?"

Totsuka smiled good naturedly, "Don't tease the newest member. Kai-kun's 15." And then to Kaiya he explained, "Let me introduce you, that's Bandōu Saburōta with the sunglasses, then Chitose Yō, and the little girl is Anna." The girl with long white hair jumped off the bar stool and ran over to grab Kaiya's hand and lifted a red marble up to her eye with the other, "Kai-chan."

"Hi Anna-chan." Kaiya crouched so she was at eye level with the little Lolita, "I guess you can call me that if you like."

"Anna's hardly this friendly with new members." A glasses wearing guy sitting next to Chitose murmured thoughtfully, "She insults most of them."

"Hey Yata! Someone who looks more like a girl than you do!" A pudgy darker skinned man chuckled, which caused a rather short reddish haired boy to scream indignantly in response, "I don't look like a girl!"

Kaiya straightened up, and Anna clutched her hand tighter and pulled herself closer to the older girl's side. Totsuka looked surprised but then motioned toward the red haired boy and his chubby companion, "Yata and Kamamoto Rikio." And then the glasses wearing man, "And Dewa Masaomi."

"Totsuka you haven't been filming Kai-chan." Anna pointed out, "And you always film new members, to remember."

He nodded, "Thank you for reminding me." And with a final pat on Kaiya's shoulder he jogged over and picked up an ancient looking video camera and listed it to his face, "Say hi, Kai-kun!"

Kaiya stuck out her tongue, not much for being filmed, and then turned her attention to Anna, "So what were you drinking before I came in?" With a tug, the little girl led her solemnly to the bar where her bowl of ice cream sat unfinished. Unlike most of her friends (which she had to shake away a brief moment of sadness when she realized she might never see again), Kaiya liked children and was apparently children knew this and tended to be drawn to her. She helped Anna back onto the stool, staggering a bit under the 10 year old girl's weight. Anna was a delicate little thing, but Kaiya was wiry and light weight herself, not to mention she was only 5 years Anna's senior. The younger girl immediately set about finishing her ice cream while Kaiya stood by her bar stool and looked around the place she had been too exhausted to get a good look at last night. It was a nice place, and if it seemed like a pretty upstanding place despite the fact that it was HOMRA's headquarters.

A small hand yanking on her jacket pulled her out of her thoughts, Anna had finished her ice cream and was not giving Kaiya that blank stare. "Want to see the memory collection?"

"What's that?"

"She means Totsuka's films." Kamamoto explained, looking over at the newbie. Kaiya smiled in thanks and then returned her gaze to her little companion, "Sounds interesting."

Wordlessly, Anna leapt off the stool and pulled Kaiya toward the projector and began to dig through the circular memories…

()

"Oh, I see Anna fell asleep." Someone behind her laughed and she turned her head. Totsuka held the old camera up and circled them slowly, filming the scene of Kaiya with a sleeping Anna on her lap. She would have moved, but she didn't want to wake up the little girl. "Oh, and that reminds me." Totsuka stopped walking and looked out from behind the lens, "We need to go out and buy you clothes. My clothes are a bit too big and you can't wear those jeans forever. I can bring you now, the shops shouldn't be closed yet."

"What about my new addition?" She motioned to the sleeping child.

"Anna? Just bring her along." He clicked off the video camera and turned toward the door. Kaiya reluctantly shook Anna awake and placed her on her feet before standing up herself. Her hand was immediately grasped tightly in a set of smaller ones and the two moved toward where Totsuka was waiting for them at the door. He shot Kaiya a semi-sympathetic look, "I guess you've caught in the role of Anna's big sister."

Kaiya stuck her other hand in her hoodie pocket and shrugged, walking past him out the door, but stopped when she felt Anna pause. Looking over, Kaiya saw the younger girl had lifted up a red marble to her right eye.

"What are you looking at?" She laughed, following Anna's gaze but her laughter died. A colored photo of her at her 15th birthday party was adorning a missing poster, a well 0 adorned reward danced across the bottom. Her voice was squeaky with fear, "Totsuka-san? I haven't even been gone for 24 hours! The police shouldn't be involved yet, right? So what is this?!"

"Calm down, it'll be alright. It doesn't even look like you anymore." His usual easy smile was tense though, and he reached down and patted Anna's head, "Now come on, the shops will be closing soon."

The younger girl nodded absent-mindedly and put away the marble, letting Kaiya lead them again.

()

Inside the store, Anna tried to enter the changing room with Kaiya, but Totsuka pulled her back, laughing good naturedly, "I don't think Kai-kun would be too comfortable with that." Kaiya mouthed thank you behind the younger girl's back and ducked behind the door.

An hour later they left, burdened with a whole wardrobe of guys' clothes that were small enough to fit but large enough to hide the obvious feminine traits of her's. They ended up taking a taxi home, where Anna fell asleep and Kaiya had to carry her back into the bar. Carrying her new attachment around was going to help Kaiya build up the muscles her lithe frame lacked.

()

The next day, Kaiya sat in the HOMRA bar with Anna, who was eating a lunch made for her by Kusanagi, and Totsuka, who was filming them. Kaiya had soon realized it was pointless to get annoyed every time he pulled out the camera or she'd have permanent frown lines within days.

"Here, Kai-kun." Kusanagi placed a plate of food in front of her. She responded with a look of surprise, but he just went back to carefully cleaning his prized bar. So she shrugged and dug in without complaining. She had been so stressed lately she hadn't been eating a lot and now she was starting to feel powerful hunger pains. It appeared she was now permanently staying with Totsuka, who had apparently taken the role of her new guardian.

The other members trickled in to eat and talk, Kaiya was somewhat surprised how like a family it was. _Funny how while I was running from one gang, I was admitted into another, _she smiled at the thought, done with her food, she's just sat watching everyone from her perch next to Anna. The younger girl seemed to have a knack for realizing when Kaiya wasn't paying attention because she always tugged on Kai's arm to bring her mind back to the present.

"Yes, Anna?"

"I found an old photo album." She pushed it toward Kaiya and then continued eating (Anna ate way more than was probably healthy for a normal kid her age, but no one seemed too worried about it).

Kaiya flipped through, curious as to what she'd find, but then paused as the picture of a boy who was unmistakably Yata due to the red hair, but he was with a boy with glasses and dark hair who she hadn't seen among the HOMRA members. She pushed it back over to Anna, "Who's this?"

Kusanagi leaned over to see and answered for her, "Fushimi Saruhiko, he used to be in HOMRA."

"Huh, Yata seems so happy with him. Hey Yata? Is that your guy lover?" She turned to her fellow clansman who sat two seats away from her at the bar.

"What the fuck?! I'm not gay!" But he walked over to see who she was referring to, his reaction to the picture was, "That fucking monkey!"

"Ex-guy lover obviously." Kaiya sighed, flipping through the other pages, "If he's no longer in HOMRA, what happened to him?"

"He left." Kusanagi said briefly before turning back to cleaning a glass, but Yata had more to say about the matter, "He betrayed HOMRA and joined Scepter4!"

Scepter4 had been mentioned in her quick lesson about the kings from Totsuka. Scepter4 was the part of the police department that was run by the blue king. It appeared that HOMRA being a gang and Scepter4 being the police had caused some rivalries.

She sighed and turned back to examining the pictures but was quickly stopped by another shocking photo, "Is this Kamamoto's brother?"

Yata seemed to get over his anger and he glanced at where she was pointing, "No, that's Kamamoto in summer."

"But how?!" She pulled the picture closer to her face and took in the small details, then looked over at her pudgy clansman, "How?!"

"I lose my appetite in summer."

Before she could ponder this phenomenon any longer, the door opened, and Yata, who was facing it, tensed beside her. Kaiya glanced over her shoulder and saw Yata's ex had strode in and upon seeing them, he walked over.

"I hate to have to consort with you, but you have a foot in the underground and this is rather urgent apparently." He pulled a folded piece of paper out his coat and opened it for them to see.

Kaiya was suddenly as tense as Yata. It was one of her missing posters.


	4. Author's Note: Responding to Review Qs

1: Why did you make Kaiya become a boy?

I love crossdressers, but also it twists the story in a direction I personally like. Also, most parents would be able to recognize their child if the child dyed their hair, especially if their child had silver eyes. Secondly - or thirdly, the missing person is a girl, so they're narrowing the search down by 50% basically - thus the best disguise is to change to a boy, especially if you have the looks to fit it. Fourthly, Yata can't deal with girls (except for Anna, but that's because she's young), so for her to be in HOMRA, it's best for her to be a guy.

2: Why Miss HOMRA?

Um...well I'm sure some of the characters will discover her gender or I'll do something fun with a beauty pageant just for kicks. Prepare to be surprised and maybe I'll put Yata in a dress? I told you I love crossdressers.

3: Will you send me the story early?

We~ll...I haven't written the whole story yet. So I promise to upload as soon as I have 1000+ more words written. I try to do a chapter every 2 days at longest (I promise to be kind to my followers with this story!).

(If you have any more questions, just post them in a review or PM me, I'll be happy to answer without spoiling anything ;))


	5. Candy for HOMRA

"This girl is a strain of unknown and unstable power." His tone was bored, "So if you've heard anything, it would be very appreciated if you told the police."

Anna didn't look up but she had stopped eating and Yata seemed about to attack but was calmed by Kusanagi's hand which suddenly appeared on his shoulder. Kusanagi was the one who answered, "I don't believe we've seen her or heard anything about a dangerous strain." He then directed his attention to Kaiya, "Oh and Kai-kun? Bring your plate to the kitchen and wash it please." He spoke in the same voice of a parent who didn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends but was about to have a very serious talk with you.

"Yes, of course." She dropped her gaze as Fushimi turned and left. As soon as she got up though, Anna leapt off her own chair and grabbed Kaiya's free hand.

Kusanagi walked into the kitchen ahead of them, grabbing Anna's plate on the way in. He put the dishes in the sink and then turned to face her. He didn't have to speak, any kid knew that look, you-better-start-explaining.

"I didn't see it necessary to tell you my father was a company CEO, but he has the power to get the police to come searching for me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that, I'm just causing trouble but I was so scared-"

"And about being a strain?" His voice was cold, but the term was unfamiliar.

"Um…I don't know what a strain is?"

Anna pulled slightly away from Kaiya and lifted a marble to her eye. The older girl, feeling her move, looked down in surprise. "She doesn't know." Anna spoke quietly.

Kusanagi relaxed a bit and smiled at Kaiya, "A strain is someone with magic without being affiliated with a king."

_A strain of unknown and unstable power._ "I don't think I have any magic. I should know though, right?"

"Scepter4 is responsible for strains." Kusanagi paused, "It doesn't matter, I'm sorry to have scared you, Kaiya."

She smiled and walked over to place her dishes in the sink before returning to the bar where the majority of HOMRA was gathered.

()

_Even if I dress and act like a guy, there's no way to get around my period._ Kaiya scowled inwardly as she entered the nearby convenience store. Anna had stayed back at the HOMRA bar with Mikoto-san, and so Kaiya had a day off of sorts. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes against the sun, today held promise. She barely refrained from skipping through the convenience store doors – as doing so wouldn't be very guy-ish of her. Chilled air blew across her skin as she stepped through the automated doors, a temporary relief from the hot cement and humid air. She quickly set about completing her mission and bought some candy for Anna while she was at it.

Within a few minutes, she was outside again, and having to withstand the thick, soupy air. Her bags filled mostly with candy as she'd soon decided to treat everyone at HOMRA to sweets. She'd love to be able to just wear a tank top instead of her oversized t-shirt, but no matter where she went in the city she had to be a boy. But she didn't complain too much about being male, no more shaving was a definite plus.

Just then, she saw someone buying a drink from a vending machine and her memory clicked. It was Yata's ex-guy lover! She couldn't remember his name though, but she was no longer nervous about people recognizing her after the first few run-ins with police officers who has been oblivious. He was talking to someone on the phone and sounding very irritated. She wasn't close enough to make out specific words though, so she walked on without stopping and quickly slipped back into her thoughts again.

Totsuka had decided she was going to be enrolled in high school as a boy, because she was still legally too young to work and hanging around the HOMRA bar too much might cause people to start becoming aware of her gender. She'd wanted to continue going to school, because maybe someday she'd be able to return to being a girl and having a couple years off from a school would not be favorable. So it was decided she'd start at the neighborhood school at the end of summer, as Totsuka Kai, taking on the name of her adoptive guardian.

Kaiya opened the door to Totsuka's apartment and dropped off her female necessities in her respective room, which contained a twin sized mattress lying to the left, a set of drawers below the window, and the window which overlooked a typical Shizume city view. She brought the rest of the bags laden with candy back to the HOMRA bar.

()

Upon entering, she saw no sign of Anna. "Kusanagi-san? Where's everyone?"

The bartender was polishing a glass carefully, "Typical gang business. And Totsuka is enrolling you in school, at the moment. He should be back soon." He placed down the glass and nodded toward the bags, "What did you buy?"

"Oh, well I need to stop by the convenience store and I picked up some candy while I was at it. I was going to get some for Anna and then I just ended up getting some for everyone." She placed the bags down on the counter and took a seat.

"And where did you get the money?" He peered into one of the bags curiously.

"Oh, I always have money on me, so when I ran away I had some left. That and Totsuka has been providing me with allowance."

Kusanagi opened one of the bags of candy and popped some in his mouth before returning to his cleaning. Kaiya crossed her arms in front of her and laid her face down on the cool bar, "It's so hot…" The trek in the heat had left her exhausted and she let herself drift off…

()

An hour later the door of the HOMRA bar swung open and the red clansmen poured in, grabbing seats at the bar. Anna dashed over to the seat beside Kaiya and pulled herself up, immediately reaching for the candy and then turning her gaze on her sleeping companion. She felt the younger girl's eyes on her and blinked awake, sitting up slowly and stretching, "Hi, Anna."

Kamamoto noticed the candy and immediately set about devouring it, and thus bringing it to the attention of the others HOMRA members. Yata reached between Kaiya and Anna to grab some too.

"I've never seen Yata so easy around a girl." Anna spoke thoughtfully as she slid some candy in her ruffles for later.

He popped candy in his mouth and shot her a confused look, "I've never been uncomfortable around you, Anna." In response she lifted a marble to her eye and focused it on Kaiya.

"Hey, that's mean." The older girl laughed, "I don't look that much like a girl."

Anna lowered the marble and returned it to one of her many frills, and continued chewing on her treat thoughtfully. "Thank you for the candy, Kai-chan."

"Oh, Kai-kun brought it?" Kamamoto said through a mouthful, "What's the occasion?"

"He's now enrolled in high school."

Totsuka's voice made Kaiya look up. It had only been a short time, but she had already started reacting to his presence the way she used to react to her father's: with a surge of happiness. "Totsuka-san! You're back!"


	6. The HOMRA Family

Spending so much time at the HOMRA bar, Kaiya soon got into the task of helping out as a waiter like the other members. Anna sat at the bar on these days and didn't follow her around, and Kaiya earned money from the tips.

"I'll bring your meal to you shortly." She bowed quickly and returned to bar to give Kusanagi their orders, but she paused half way there. Yata was talking to some girl customers and looking extremely nervous, which was giving the girls a field day. He finally managed to get all their orders and return to Kusanagi. There weren't many customers so Kaiya stopped him at the bar, "Yata, where those girls teasing you? You looked really embarrassed."

"That's just him." Kusanagi chuckled as he took the orders from them, "Yata-chan can't talk to girls very well."

"Seriously?" She turned on him, eyes wide.

He scowled at her, "It's none of your business!"

"But you talk to Kai-chan easily." Anna didn't look up as she spoke but played with her marbles on the table.

"Kai-kun is a boy, he just looks like a girl." Yata grumbled, which earned him a punch in the shoulder from Kaiya.

"Then maybe you could practice with him, Yata-chan?" Kusanagi placed their tables' orders in front of them, "Now get back to work."

()

Kaiya was sitting on the couch next to Anna, her PDA's signal had been permanently blocked so she couldn't be tracked by it, but she couldn't make any calls on it either. It's only real purpose now was for games and holding onto her memories of before her life went to hell. Though that wasn't really true. _If none of this has happened…_she'd never have met Totsuka-san or any of the other HOMRA members. All these people who were now her world.

"What are you playing?" Anna's soft voice roused her from her speculations.

"Oh, nothing." She looked down at her PDA, then another thought struck her, "Anna, this may seem like a stupid question…how did you…activate your HOMRA magic or whatever?"

The younger girl looked at the marbles in her palm, "I think it's different for everyone."

Totsuka had told Kaiya that she had to realize her powers before she'd be sent on missions like the other members. She wanted to be useful, since it had already been a month since she'd been initiated. Not that she'd probably be sent on missions, Totsuka assured her, because she would be enrolled in school and that might get in the way of her education, which should be her top priority. He was already getting into the role of a parent, it appeared.

With an annoyed sigh, she leaned back against the couch. Magic took too much patience.

"Kai-chan?"

"Yes?"

Anna was quiet and then tentatively turned and reached up for Kaiya's hair, "Can I braid it?"

"Sure, whatever."

Anna made a sound of joy and then set about restoring some of the girliness that Kaiya had long since abandoned.

Kaiya was later awoken, after having drifted off. Anna was tugging her arm and holding a hand mirror up to her face. Where had she gotten that? Kaiya brushed off the question and studied her reflection, "Wow, I look even more like a girl than usual. Thanks, Anna." To be in character, she made sure to make this statement highly sarcastic, but the younger girl didn't seem to take offense, "Because you are a girl."

"Why do you want to keep on insisting on that?" Kaiya began to undo the braids, "But whatever, it's not like it's anything new."

Someone made a strangled sound, and they both looked up. Yata stood before them looking embarrassed and horrified while Kamamoto laughed.

"What's all the fuss-oh." Kusanagi, drawn by the commotion looked down at Kaiya with a sad smile, "What did you let Anna do to you, Kai-kun?"

"It's just my hair, it's not like I let her put on make-up." She grumbled, averting her gaze and attempting to undo the braids faster.

"B-but you l-l-look l-like a-a g-girl!" Yata screamed incredulously.

Kamamoto nodded, "So much so that Yata is reacting to you like he instinctively reacts to all females!" This, of course, only made Yata more embarrassed, which led to him getting angry.

"Anna! Never do that to Kai-kun again!"

"But Yata is turning such a pretty red."

Kusanagi admonished her gently, "It's not nice to tease Yata on his inability to deal with females."

Kaiya finally managed to get the braids out and began to rake her fingers through her hair urgently, trying to get it back to its original look. Anna looked at Yata through a red marble and showed the hints of a smile. _HOMRA's little sister teasing Yata. _She observed the situation, attempting to hide her own smile. She didn't regret coming here. _Thanks Dad, your actions indirectly brought me here, and I am so thankful._


End file.
